Means for automatically inserting items of printed matter into packages



Mmh'm, 1942. BSHQRES 2,277,856

MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY INSERTING ITEMS OF PRINTED MATTER INTO PACKAGESFiled March 11, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aiforne s.

'5. SHORES March 31, 1942.

MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY INSERTING ITEMS OF PRINTED MATTER INTO PACKAGESFiled March 11', 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .721 ya 11 for 'BfR/WIRD Sl/OREI'3) M w M Aftorne Patented Mar. 31, 1942 MEANs ron AUTOMATICALLY INSERT-ING ITEMS OF PRINTED MATTER INTO PACKAGES Bernard Shores, London,England, assignor to Allied Suppliers Limited and Bernard Shores, bothof London, England Application March 11, 1939, Serial No. 261,376 InGreat Britain July 15, 1938 8 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for inserting coupons or the like intobags or other containers under process of filling, having reference moreparticularly to such devices of an automatic character employed inconjunction with ordinary package filling and sealing machines.

It not infrequently happens that a package is desired to include,besides its principal contents, something in the form of printed matter,such as a coupon, identification ticket or instruction card. While inmany instances the insertion of such an item automatically with theprincipal contents may present no difficulty, in other cases it has beennecessary or usual to effect the insertion by hand, which means theemployment of a much larger number of work people than would otherwisebe necessary if the rate of production of automatically filled packagesis not to be slowed down. For example, where tea is being put up inpaper packets, making use of more or less elaborate machines working athigh speed, it has not heretofore been considered feasible, withoutundue machine modification and complication, to insert an item after apredetermined quantity of the commodity has been filled into the packet,which has consequently been done by hand when required.

The main object of the present invention is to provide simple andreliable means, of wide application, whereby containers in the course oftravel through a packaging machine can have automatically insertedthereinto any desired item such as referred to.

An important feature consists in so combining and arranging the parts ofthe improved means I sion, causes the item feeding means to be arrestedand so to withold discharge of the insert item until the next package inprogression is brought into receptive relation thereto.

Although the invention is capable of wide application and can bevariously carried into effect, it will be further briefly described withref erence to the inclusion in a packet, after the packet has beenfilled with its regular contents, of a so-called coupon or stamp havinga monetary or trading value to the purchaser, and the disposal of whichcoupons, or stamps, consequently must be properly accounted for. pose,according to the invention, the coupons are automatically severed from aroll length of strip, successively as the packets, ready for thereception thereof, reach an appropriate place in their successiveprogression. The strip of coupons is fed a definite distance atpredetermined intervals along a guide from a reel, by roller meansrotated intermittently. The rotation of said roller means may beeffected through a friction clutch, one member of which is constantlydriven, while the other, which is connected to the roller means, iscapable of being temporarily arrested. This arrest may be effected as byelectromagnetically controlled means embodying a pawl or the like membercapable of being moved into and out of the path of stops upon theappropriate clutch member or some associated part.

In the accompanying illustrative drawings, Fig. 1 is a part sectionalside elevation and Fig. 2 is a corresponding part sectional plan view ofone embodiment according to the invention. Fig. 3 represents a portionof perforated strip for use therewith. Fig. 4 is a diagram indicatingthe means applied to a machine such as is used for filling packets withtea. Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are respectively a side elevation, an endelevation and a plan, mainly diagrammatic, of a modification of stripfeeding roller means.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, a substantial metal body or casing Ihas bearings 2 for a shaft 3, upon which is secured one member 4 of afriction clutch, the other or companion clutch member 5 being constantlydriven by a pulley 6 mounted loosely on the shaft 3. The clutch member 4is shown as fitted with four stops 1, whereby it can be arrested atevery quarter of a revolution by a pawl or engaging member 8 releasedupon energisation of an electromagnet 9. The strip ID to be fed isconducted from a reel ll over a roller I2 at the top of an arm l3, overrollers l4 and IS in the body I, and over the lower roller it of a feedpair, the upper roller ll of which pair is carried by an arm I8 pivotedat l9 and loaded by an adjustable spring 20. From between the rollersIB, ll the strip H] is conducted along a trough guide 2| past a knife orguillo tine cutter 22, which knife is pivoted at 23 and adapted to bedepressed by a knob 24 from its normal position determined by a spring25. The aforesaid roller I6 is fixed on a spindle 26, driven from theshaft 3 through gears 21 and 28, the latter being loose on the spindle26 and provided with a spring-urged pawl 29 engaging a ratchet For thispur- In this example the real strip is assumed to be perforated asindicated in Fig. 3 so that coupons or stamps 35 are separated by ablank 36 which is severed by the aforementioned knife or guillotinecutter, it being advantageous to mark the blanks 36 each with a lineintended to register with an indicating pointer El on the guide 2| sothat an attendant may visually ascertain that the feed is proceedingproperly and enabling any irregularity in this connection to becorrected. The spare blank parts 36 of the coupon or stamp can be tornoff after removal of the same from a package.

Taking the case of the machine typified by Fig. 4, where packets 6! movein a circular path and the contents are compressed by a ram 32, thestamp feeding unit designated as a whole by A is arranged at a pointwhere the outlet end of the guide 2! (bearing the knife 22) is locatedover the mouth of the filled or partly filled packet as the packettravels to the next packaging position in the well known way. At thesaid point the knife 22 associated with said end of the guide isoperated in unison with the ram Liz through a tappet G3 acting upon theknob 24. Between the position of the ram 82 and the coupon feeding unitA is located a switch M3, operated by contact with successively fedpackets, that normally interrupts the electric circuit of the magnet orsolenoid 9 and thereby normally secures arrest of the clutch member 4aheady referred to. After the ram has been retracted from a packet, thepacket in moving to the next operative position of the packagingmachine, opposite the feeding unit which it progressively passes,encounters the switch E43 and closes the same, thereby energizing themagnet or solenoid and allowing a coupon length of the reel strip to befed forward ready to be severed upon the next reciprocation of the raminto a following packet. However, if no packet is presented to saidswitch I43, then of course the strip feeding unit A remains idle andcontinues so until another packet subsequently comes into contact withthe switch.

A form of feed which involves less personal supervision than thatdescribed to secure regularity can be employed and may in some cases bepreferred or necessary. Such an arrangement might be of the type shownin Figs. 5, 6 and '7, wherein a roller Il equivalent to the roller ll ofFig. 1 cooperates with a roller Hi replacing the roller 15 of Fig. 1,the said roller I6 having circumferentially short peripheral segments 44equal to or approaching the width of the coupon strip to be fed andextending from a circumferentially complete region or portion thereofwhich is narrower in width (see Fig. 6) between the segments M, than thediameter of holes 45 punched in the strip. In such an arrangement, as isknown, the strip is fed by the narrow circumferentially complete portionof the roller l5, between the segments M, only while the strip istransversely complete at the line of contact with the roller Il As soonas a hole in the strip reaches the line of contact between the tworollers, which is thus transversely short, the feed is arrested andremains arrested until a wide segment 44 of the roller Hi reaches theline of contact when the feed is ire-established.

This arresting allows time for the knife action and the device is ofcourse synchronated with the packet feeding apparatus; that is, with theprogression of the packets to position where a severed coupon will bedropped thereinto.

What I claim is:

1. A device for automatically inserting coupons or the like into spacedpackages carried on the conveyor of a machine for progressivelyadvancing a series of partly filled packages and said machine having avertically reciprocable member adapted to operate upon successivepackages brought into position adjacent thereto, said device comprising,in a self-contained unit, a frame; a strip guide in said frame; a feederreel for strip coupon material mounted in said frame; a pair of'coactingpressure rolls journaled in the frame opposite one end of the guide;means for guiding the strip from the reel to the pressure rolls andstrip guide; a friction clutch journaled in the frame; means forcontinuously rotating one clutch member; means on the other clutchmember for rotating the pressure rolls'; an annular series of spacedlugs on said other clutch member spaced in accordance with theindividual coupon length; a pawl pivoted in the frame and normallyyieldably extending into the path of said lugs to engage a lug andautomatically interrupt rotation of said other clutch member after eachadvancing movement of the strip to coupon length; means adapted to beactuated by the vertically reciprocable member to sever the strip intoindividual coupons; and means adapted to be controlled by theprogressively advancing packages to intermittently release said pawl sothat successive intermittent rotations of the pressure rolls willfollow.

2. In a device as set forth in claim 1, means for manually rotating thepressure rolls to advance the strip in the guide.

3. In combination with a device as set forth in claim 1, a shaftsupporting said friction clutch members; a second shaft parallel withthe first shaft on which one of said pressure rolls is fixedly mounted;means for manually rotating said shaft; a ratchet wheel on said roll;intermeshing gearing on said shafts, the gear on the roll shaft beingloose thereon; and a spring pressed pawl on said roll shaft gearengaging said ratchet wheel, whereby manual rotation of the roll shaftwill rotate the pressure rolls while the intermediate gears arestationary.

4. In a device as set forth in claim 1, said releasing means comprisingan electric circuit including a source of electric energy, a switchtherein adapted to be closed by the advancing packages, andelectro-magnetic means therein for shifting said pawl when the circuitis closed.

5. A device for automatically inserting coupons or the like into spacedpackages carried on the conveyor of a machine for progressivelyadvancing a series of partly filled packages and said machine having avertically reciprocable member adapted to operate upon successivepackages brought into position adjacent thereto, said de- T' vicecomprising, in a self-contained unit, a frame;

a strip guide mounted therein and extending beyond one side thereof; afeeder reel for strip coupon material mounted in said frame; a pair ofcoacting pressure rolls journaled in the frame opposite the inner end ofthe guide; means for guiding the strip from the reel to the pressurerolls and strip guide; a friction clutch journaled in the frame; meansfor continuously rotating one clutch member; means on the other clutchmember for rotating the pressure rolls; an annular series of spaced lugson said other clutch member spaced in accordance with the individualcoupon length; a pawl pivoted in the frame and claim 5, means formanually rotating the pressure rolls to advance the strip in the guide.

'7. In combination with a device as set forth in claim 5, a shaftsupporting said friction clutch members; a second shaft parallel withthe first shaft on which one of said pressure rolls is fixedly mounted;a knob on said shaft; a ratchet wheel on said roll, intermeshing gearingon said shafts, the gear on the roll shaft being loose thereon; and aspring pressed pawl on said roll shaft gear engaging said ratchet wheel,whereby manual rotation of the knob will rotate the pressure rolls whilethe intermeshing gears are stationary.

8. In a device as set forth in claim 5, said releasing means comprisingan electric circuit including a source of electric energy, a switchtherein adapted to be closed by the advancing packages, andelectro-magnetic means therein for shifting said pawl when the circuitis closed.

BERNARD SHORES.

